Dubai is planning to introduce an instant bank account facility for new businesses in the kingdom, according to media reports.
Dubai Economy has set up a blockchain consortium that comprises six UAE-based banks.
The KYC (Know Your Customer) Blockchain Consortium set up by Dubai Economy consists of Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, HSBC, Rakbank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Commercial Bank of Dubai.
Through the blockchain platform, authenticated and validated KYC data of businesses will simultaneously be shared with financial institutions of their preference. This will expedite the opening of a bank account for newly registered companies and reduce the burdensome and costly requirements of managing KYC data for already registered companies.
Over the years, the process of opening a bank account for new businesses, freelancers and small businesses has been a complicated one.
Reportedly, the consortium is collaborating with global blockchain KYC firm norbloc to enable the ecosystem through its Fides KYC Platform while Dubai Pulse is the government-certified blockchain platform enabler.
Ali Ibrahim, deputy director-general of Dubai Economy told the media, “The platform will offer a digital ‘Instant Bank Account’ functionality, allowing for faster and less cumbersome onboarding journey with banks and significantly improving the experience of new investors looking to establish themselves in the UAE. This, in turn, will boost customer satisfaction as well as ease of doing business in the UAE as a whole.”
He further added that the initiative will soon become a nationwide ecosystem as it will invite other financial institutions and licensing authorities to join this initiative.
The introduction of the blockchain platform in Dubai is also in line with the UAE’s Vision 2021, where it aims to be a world leader in terms of the ease of doing business in the country.